Update:national fieldwork now completed , but records
from winters 2011/12 & 2012/13 will also be mapped for the Waterford Atlas project.

Fieldworkers in Co Waterford have
contributed to this national survey (throughout Ireland and Britain) to map the distribution and relative abundance of wintering
birds throughout these islands. Although results of the national atlas will be presented at 10-km scale (10-km x 10-km
squares), much of the fieldwork is done at a finer scale - collecting records within 2-km x 2-km tetrads. Preliminary coverage
& species maps are given below. Latest update 10 December 2011.

The map above shows the tetrads for which volunteer counters have already
'signed up' for (or completed) Timed Tetrad Visits. Ideally we need to cover at least 8 tetrads in each main square,
or all substantial tetrads in any coastal squares that have fewer than 8 tetrads. However, in this final season, priority is being given to tetrads in the squares
marked * above (which are being covered fully on national scale).

As well
as Timed Tetrad Visits, volunteers are also needed to collect Roving Records - either in specific tetrads (e.g. near home)
or from any tetrads throughout the county. This will help build up fuller species lists for each tetrad and 10-km square.
See Bird Atlas 2007-2011, or email, to sign up.

Unlike
the Waterford Breeding Bird Atlas (full details here), winter atlas coverage in Waterford will not be complete, i.e. only a sample of 2-km tetrads will be surveyed fully.
(The basic requirement is 8 or more tetrads per 10-km square, or fewer in some coastal squares.) Full coverage
of a tetrads involves the Timed Tetrad Visit (TTV) method, i.e. two 1-hour counts, one during November-December
and one January-February. However, less-intensive coverage of other tetrads, using the Roving Records (RR)
method, will provide further information. If the coverage achieved by a combination of these methods is good
enough, it may be possible to produce detailed maps of winter bird distribution for selected Waterford species.

Maps below are based on data for the first two winters of atlas coverage (2007/08 & 2008/09).
Updated 16 December 2009.

Species richness by 10-km square

The map below (from national atlas website) summarises
coverage since 1/11/2007 as as % of the species totals recorded in the previous Winter Atlas (1981/82 to 1983/84).
Red = over 90% of previous
total; orange = 75-90%; yellow = 50-74%; white =
1-50%.